Mastodon are easily one of Ross and my favorite bands. Seismic chord progressions, noodly solos, neo-psychedelic story lines, and a trio of unique vocalists have made this group really stand head and shoulders above their peers and it really showed in 2009 on their masterpiece, Crack the Skye. The band created a truly classic record that I’m going to raise my 12 kids on in our hovercar in 2025. The Mastodon live show is truly an experience. Elaborate lights and visuals compliment a band that delivers night in and night out thanks in part to one of the only rockstars of our generation, Brent Hinds.

Given the success of the Crack the Skye tour, Mastodon will be releasing “Live at the Aragon”, a live CD/DVD that captures their set at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago. The package contains the bands performance of Crack the Skye in it’s entirety as well as choice cuts from their back catalog as well as a cover of “The Bit” by the Melvins. “Live at the Aragon” will also be available as a Record Store Day exclusive on 180 gram vinyl and DVD on April 16th. Check out the clips of Oblivion and Ghost of Karelia after the jump and buy the damn thing when it drops in your preferred format kiddies! Continue reading ‘Mastodon to Release “Live at the Aragon” CD/DVD, Record Store Day Special’

Louonomics would be fixed rate taxation on consumable goods and services. I find income taxes obnoxious and with the constant debate on taxation and cuts for the wealthy to be counterproductive. The more you consume, the more you’re taxed. It’s not exactly groundbreaking but though economists have talked about it they’ve never really implemented it. Create incentives for businesses to produce goods in the US even it means mechanized labor (how most things should be produced these days IMO).

So, as you know, your fearless writers here at Oh My Prog do more than merely prattle about the music that gets our blood pumping, we also make obscene amounts of noise! This past December, our band Idol Collapse has been working on recording some home demos and working out the kinks in our material before we start deafening people who presumably paid to be entertained with music. And we’re fucking amped to start doing permanent damage to your eardrums! But until then, you can check out four of our tunes recorded in my very own basement on the finest equipment $100 can buy. Expect more in the future, especially this summer, because it’s going to get awesome.

I feel like sometimes metal bands focus on the wrong aspects of what metal music should be. It isn’t all about breakdowns and blast beats and burning shit on stage. That shit’s got its place and there’s nothing wrong with it, but sometimes you just need to strip it all down and bring it back home to just fucking laying down some sick riffs and venting out every ounce of frustration. It’s that kind of energy and excitement that really gets me wrapped up in a band, and that’s why I am in love with Kvelertak.

Hailing from a country more well known for its equally epic and tired black metal, Kvelertak seem to turn their backs on the “safe” route by going for an “old school” approach to metal. They manage to mix some old school Sabbath-y doom with equal parts hardcore punk energy and the subversive beauty of Baroness. The result is a riff-happy, melody-driven, hard hitting and aurally fascinating brand of metal goodness. Enough of me blabbing like a fanboy, here’s their badass video for the song “MJØD” which is going to be on their debut album, which is coming out on June 21st:

It’s clear that, if nothing else, these guys have the respect of their peers, as they’ve got John Dyer Baizley from Baroness doing the artwork for their album. So hopefully they’ll get the recognition they deserve. Who knows? Maybe if Baroness blow up like High on Fire has we’ll be able to see this band stateside. For now I’m just hoping we’ll be able to get our hands on their LPs here.